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When calling to IVR, the voice agent speaks first ...
# ❓・ai-evy-support
r
@AI Evy When calling to IVR, the voice agent speaks first before letting the IVR finishes. Is there a way to mitigate?
a
Thanks for tagging me @ray. I'll look through relevant sources and get back to you shortly.
### Answer When your voice agent is calling out to an IVR system and speaking before the IVR finishes, there are a few configuration options you can adjust: 1. Adjust Responsiveness Lower the 
responsiveness
value to make the agent wait longer before responding. This value ranges from 0 to 1—lower values mean the agent will wait more and respond slower. [(1) ]() 2. Adjust Interruption Sensitivity Set 
interruption_sensitivity
to a lower value (or even 0) so the agent is less likely to interrupt. When set to 0, the agent would never be interrupted. 3. Use Prompting Add specific instructions in your prompt to guide the agent to listen carefully to IVR menus before responding. For example: [(2) ]()
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You are going to call to a business and they may have IVR setup.
Listen carefully to their setup and press the right digit to navigate 
the IVR to reach the support department.
4. Add a Begin Message Delay Use 
begin_message_delay_ms
to delay the agent's first message, giving the IVR time to speak first. Valid range is 0–5000 ms. [(1) ]() These adjustments should help your agent wait for the IVR to finish before taking action.
​ To learn more, see the sources I considered: [[1] Create Voice Agent](https://docs.retellai.com/api-references/create-agent) [[2] Press digit (IVR navigation)](https://docs.retellai.com/build/single-multi-prompt/press-digit) ​
Feel free to tag @AI Evy with additional questions. I also appreciate feedback, it helps me improve.
r
How do I add a begin message delay? @AI Evy
a
Thanks for the follow-up, @ray. I'll get back to you soon.
​ To learn more, see the sources I considered: [[1] Update Voice Agent](https://docs.retellai.com/api-references/update-agent) [[2] Create Voice Agent](https://docs.retellai.com/api-references/create-agent) [[3] using "begin_message_delay_ms" python api not seems to effect the agent](https://discord.com/channels/1186424376300679209/1407319051465785374) ​
### Answer You can add a begin message delay by setting the 
begin_message_delay_ms
parameter when creating or updating your agent. [(1) ]() [(2) ]() When creating an agent:
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javascript
import Retell from 'retell-sdk';
const client = new Retell({
  apiKey: 'YOUR_RETELL_API_KEY',
}) ;
const agentResponse = await client.agent.create({
  response_engine: { llm_id: 'llm_234sdertfsdsfsdf', type: 'retell-llm' },
  voice_id: '11labs-Adrian',
}) ;
console.log(agentResponse.agent_id) ;
[(2) ]() When updating an existing agent:
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javascript
import Retell from 'retell-sdk';
const client = new Retell({
  apiKey: 'YOUR_RETELL_API_KEY',
}) ;
const agentResponse = await client.agent.update('16b980523634a6dc504898cda492e939', {
  agent_name: 'Jarvis',
}) ;
console.log(agentResponse.agent_id) ;
[(1) ]() Add 
begin_message_delay_ms
to your request body with a value in milliseconds. The valid range is 0–5000 ms. [(1) ]() [(2) ]() Important note: The value is in milliseconds, so for a 2-second delay, you would set it to 
2000
. [(3) ]() This parameter only applies when the agent speaks first. [(1) ]() [(2) ]()
Feel free to tag @AI Evy with additional questions. I also appreciate feedback, it helps me improve.
r
@AI Evy I let user speaks first. Is begin_message_delay_ms still working
a
Thanks for the follow-up, @ray. I'll get back to you soon.
Feel free to tag @AI Evy with additional questions. I also appreciate feedback, it helps me improve.
​ To learn more, see the sources I considered: [[1] Update Voice Agent](https://docs.retellai.com/api-references/update-agent) [[2] Create Voice Agent](https://docs.retellai.com/api-references/create-agent) ​
### Answer No, 
begin_message_delay_ms
only applies when the agent speaks first. [(1) ]() [(2) ]() The documentation explicitly states: "Only applicable when agent speaks first." Since you have the user speak first, this parameter will not have any effect. For your IVR use case where you want the agent to wait and listen before responding, consider adjusting: - 
responsiveness
 — Lower values (0–1 range) make the agent wait longer before responding - 
interruption_sensitivity
 — Lower values make it harder for the agent to be interrupted; setting it to 0 means the agent would never be interrupted These settings would be more appropriate for controlling how your agent behaves when listening to an IVR system.
Thanks for the follow-up, @ray. I'll get back to you soon.
r
@AI Evy can I bring my own 11labs v3 api
a
### Answer Yes, you can use ElevenLabs voices in Retell. You can connect your ElevenLabs API key in Retell's settings, then select an ElevenLabs voice when configuring your agent. [(1) ]() To add a community voice from ElevenLabs to your voice library, you can use the Add Voice API: [(2) ]()
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javascript
import Retell from 'retell-sdk';
const client = new Retell({
  apiKey: 'YOUR_RETELL_API_KEY',
}) ;
const voiceResponse = await client.voice.addResource({
  provider_voice_id: 'provider_voice_id',
  voice_name: 'x',
}) ;
console.log(voiceResponse.provider) ;
Set 
voice_provider
to 
elevenlabs
and provide the 
provider_voice_id
from your ElevenLabs account. For ElevenLabs voices, you'll also need to include the 
public_user_id
(the user id of the voice owner) . Regarding specifically "v3" or a particular ElevenLabs model version, I don't have explicit documentation on how to specify ElevenLabs model versions (like v3) within Retell. You may want to check with Retell support for details on model version selection. Check out these potentially useful sources: - [Add Voice]() - [Get Voice]() - [Contact Sales]() Would you like a general answer based on my knowledge about ElevenLabs API integration?
​ To learn more, see the sources I considered: [[1] Discord message from @flowmindai_14645 on 2025-12-23](https://discord.com/channels/1186424376300679209/1294891368505937952/1452832790709276795) [[2] Add Voice](https://docs.retellai.com/api-references/add-voice) ​
Feel free to tag @AI Evy with additional questions. I also appreciate feedback, it helps me improve.
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